My travels through the sleazy world of independent wrestling as seen through the hazy murk of nostalgia and filtered through an addiction to pop culture. Written by a whiny, inconsistent, absent-minded procrastinating Grammar-Nazi.

Friday, June 29, 2012

LAST CHANCE to Submit to the 2012 YoungCuts Film FestivalNews and Notes from the YoungCuts Film Festival

Last Chance to Submit!

The final deadline for the YoungCuts Film Festival is July 2nd. (In practice, Monday is a holiday in Canada and we are flexible, so you have plenty of time to sneak in your film at the wire.) But don't wait! Submit today!

Here is how to submit:
http://www.youngcuts.com/static/how_to_submit_to_the_2012_youngcuts_film_festival

Remember that we have added a Master Class section this year for filmmakers 26-29, so we are accepting films from any young filmmaker 29 or under.

Watch the Best of YoungCuts TV Specials

Earlier this year, we were able to broadcast 10 short films from the YoungCuts Film Festival as 2 TV specials presented in High Definition on the HIFI channel.

Now, you can watch those two specials online for FREE!
http://www.youngcuts.com/best_of_youngcuts

Filmmaker Opportunity: ReelWorld Film Festival Indie Film Lounge

Each summer ReelWorld Film Festival and Foundation selects 20 diverse emerging producers, directors, screenwriters or actors to participate in our annual Indie Film Lounge happening September 12-13. These E20 and are given the opportunity to meet, network and pitch at one-on-one meeting with established producers, directors, writers, actors, funders, agents, broadcasters, distributors, and union reps. If you are working on a project or want to move your career ahead in the right direction than apply now or e-mail industry@reelworld.ca

Application Deadline: July 20th, 2012

The YoungCuts Film Festival Facebook Page

Almost every day, we are featuring images from films submitted to this year's festival (or from previous festivals) along with discussions and advice inspired by those films.

Friday, June 8, 2012

YoungCuts Film Festival Deadline ExtensionNews and Notes from the YoungCuts Film Festival

At the request of many schools, institutions, students and young
filmmakers, we are extending the YoungCuts Film Festival deadline until July 2nd.

This year, the YoungCuts Film Festival (est 2001) celebrates 11 years of presenting Great Short Films by the World's Best Young Filmmakers. Every year, we watch more than 1,000 films from over 30 countries to pick our Top 100 International Short Films - which we present in Montreal at the end of September.

One of our key objectives is to help young filmmakers develop their filmmaking careers. In addition to showcasing their films at the YoungCuts Film Festival, we have helped place filmmakers with major studios and television broadcasters, landed them gigs filming major feature films, had their films broadcast on television (and on planes!), helped them get selected in partner film festivals, and engaged them to work in more than 500 film and television productions across North America.

If you need to jump start your filmmaking career, we are an excellent place for them to start. At the very least, since many festival professionals regard us as the source of the best short films by young filmmakers, submitting to the YoungCuts Film Festival often results in the films being selected by other international film festivals.

REMINDER: We added a "Masterclass" section this year for filmmakers 26-29, meaning that we program films by any young filmmaker 29 years old or under.

We are pleased to announce that Audrey Meubus, director of Sweet Tooth, has been chosen as the winner of the YoungCuts Film Festival Studio Technique Animation Prize. This means that Audrey won a free seat in the one day Studio Technique intensive animation course given by legendary Disney Animator Andreas Deja (designer of Scar amongst many other accomplishments).

Audrey (and her film) were chosen from amongst 50 short animated films submitted to the contest. We are also pleased to make Sweet Tooth the first film chosen to be amongst our Top 100 International Short Films at the 2012 YoungCuts Film Festival.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

The Champ Will Be Here: Kevin Steen Wrestles for BATTLEWAR this Sunday @ Foufs

Ring of Honor champion Kevin Steen will wrestle in his hometown Montreal for the first time since winning the ROH title, this Sunday, June 10th at Foufs Electronique for BATTLEWAR.

Come give the champ the respect that he deserves.

Steen will team with his frequent Quebec tag-team partner punching bag Speedball Mike Bailey to face off against the Super Smash Brothers, Stupefied and Player Uno. This is a match-up of four of the best wrestlers in QuebecCanada the World.

They can and they will tear the house down.

But even if Kevin wasn't going to be wrestling in Montreal this weekend, I would still be excited fro BATTLEWAR II. Why? Glad you asked.

Steen's other frequent punching bag tag team partner from Quebec, El Generico, will be wrestling in singles action in a match-up of Quebec Enmascarados. I would like to say that it is a dream match, but it's only a dream match if your dreams are booked by Freddy Krueger. Generico will be wrestling against the worst person in Quebec wrestling, Emperor Palpatine as played by Ron Jeremy, the one and Thank God the only, Giant Tiger.

Expect fireworks - that Giant Tiger will urinate on.

*****

I am very excited to watch Shane Matthews and Jagged aka 3.0 fight the team I am calling "Les Maudites" Mathieu St-Jacques and Thomas "Pipes" Dubois.

Of course, the reason that I am excited is unlikely to fill Shane and Jagged with joy. Those two are ridiculously talented, but the danger of that is that they sometimes have a tendency to glide through matches because they can win - hell they can excel - at half speed. They are never better than when they are challenged - never better than when someone punches them in the mouth and forces them to pay attention.

I think St-Jacques and Dubois are smart enough to know that, cocky enough to want to prove they can beat the best at their best and tough enough to punch the champs in the mouth and to hell with the consequences.

Yes, Shane, I am cheering for you to get punched in the mouth. And I'm saying it will be good for you.

*****

Former tag team partners (The Rock and Roid Express) Twiggy (the Rock) and Franky the Mobster (the Roid) are facing off against one another.

It's an interesting pairing. No one has ever achieved more with less than Twiggy, but on paper Franky the Mobster should be able to destroy Twiggy without breaking a sweat.

On the other hand, I don't want to call Franky an underachiever, but he is completely capable of underestimating Twiggy.

On the gripping hand, Twiggy is the smartest man in Quebec wrestling. It's easy to overlook this, but every-time that Twiggy wins, he does so by outthinking his opponent.

If Franky is reading this, I am not saying that you're dumb, but I am definitely, absolutely 100% saying that Twiggy is smarter than you are.

*****

After watching the Green Phantom and Dirty Buxx Belmar tear each other to shreds in a dirty, dirty, violent hardcore wrestling match in the first BATTLEWAR show, I am excited to see them square off again. I am equally excited to see Heavy Maxx Fury and Superstar Shayne Hawke added to the mix.

Fury has known the Phantom for more than a decade and he is probably the most naturally talented guy in the match. No one on this show wrestles less often than Maxx Fury or looks better when he does wrestle. Maxx is frighteningly good.

Superstar Shayne Hawke, on the other hand, is probably the most versatile wrestler in Quebec. It's easy to miss, but Shayne can wrestle anyone in the world, make them look good doing it, but also find a way to win.

Dirty Buxx Belmar used to wrestle under the name of Busty Love and when he did so, he was a frustratingly talented guy. He had all the tools, but no idea when or how to use them. Now as Buxx, everything that he does in the ring is rooted in who he is as a person. The missing ingredient for wrestling success for Buxx was finding who he was, retreating to the roots of his character. Of course, the guy who emerged from that inner search was a smelly, homeless drunk, who happens to know Muay Thai, but at least Buxx owns that inner odor.

Kicking all of their asses will be the Green Phantom, the uncrowned king of Montreal hardcore wrestling. No one's crazier, no one's a bigger bad-ass, no one's a better brawler.

Put those four together and I am excited to see what they can do.

*****

One of the nice bonuses of BATTLEWAR is the return of Vanessa Kraven to wrestling. Best get to BATTLEWAR early to see her though. She is wrestling in a special preview match - a six person tag scramble match.

All of this will be announced by Iron Mike Paterson.

Tickets are just $15 at the door. Doors open at 7PM, preview match at 7:30PM, show starts at 8PM. Foufs is at 87 Ste-Catherine East, right by the St-Laurent metro.

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About Me

I am the Festival Director for the YoungCuts Film Festival; the head writer/publicist/SHILL~ for the International Wrestling Syndicate; and the Commissioner and Worst Ring Announcer in the Multiverse for Inter-Species Wrestling.